Mechanical airway valves are placed within a passageway to prevent air from flowing in selected portions of a lung.
It would be attractive to have a valve that can block an irregularly shaped passageway. What is needed is a valve that can expand in a major dimension and a minor dimension to mirror a shape of a passageway. It would be attractive to have a valve that has a membrane that is free of wrinkles when the struts are expanded outward, but are restricted from being fully expanded. What is needed is a valve that conforms to irregularly shaped passageways and seals the passageways.